MANFRED MANN
RADIO DAYS VOL. 2 - THE MIKE D'ABO ERA, LIVE AT THE BBC 66-69

Umbrella Music’s “Radio Days – The Mike d’Abo Era,” 1966-1969, the second volume in its series of Manfred Mann’s BBC recordings, features vocalist Mike d’Abo. This release is available on three LPs or two CDs and covers the band’s Fontana label hitmaking from “Just Like A Woman” through “Ragamuffin Man.” The band lineup on this release includes Manfred Mann (keyboards), Mike d’Abo (vocals/piano), Mike Hugg (drums/vibes/piano), Tom McGuinness (guitar), and Klaus Voormann (bass). Highly regarded BBC host Brian Matthew expertly follows the band’s development through their increasingly complex pop confections while keeping their sense of humour intact. For such a rapidly changing music environment, Manfred Mann’s BBC radio appearances with Brian Matthew and other influential hosts (such as John Peel, David Symonds and Tony Brandon) would prove to be essential to the success of their singles. “Radio Days – The Mike d’Abo Era” spotlights the “Saturday Club,” “Easy Beat” and “Top Gear” sessions aired on the BBC’s “Top Of The Pops” transcription series hosted by Brian Matthew, and some extremely rare off-air recordings have also been included. With one exception (“Mighty Quinn”), none of these BBC tracks have been released commercially before. The changing landscape of 1960s music led the various members of Manfred Mann to record production, songwriting, recording of film scores, commercial jingles and also artist management – all the while continuing to create band recordings. Many of these pursuits are documented in Brian Matthew’s incisive interviews.